(London) Canadian Titanic director James Cameron says search operation for deep-sea tourist submarine turned into ‘nightmarish charade’ that prolonged families’ agony passengers.
James Cameron told Britain’s BBC, in an interview aired on Friday, that he “felt in my bones” that the submersible Titan had been lost shortly after learning that it had lost contact with the surface during its descent. towards the wreck of the ocean liner at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.
He considered the reports released by the media over the next few days that the submersible had 96 hours of oxygen and that banging noises had been heard to be a “protracted and nightmarish charade”.
“As far as I’m concerned, it was just a cruel, slow twist for four days,” he said. Because I learned the truth on Monday morning. »
The Titan was launched at 8 a.m. Sunday and was reported late in the afternoon about 700 kilometers south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. On Thursday, the US Coast Guard announced that debris had been found on the ocean floor and all five people aboard the submersible died when the ship implosed.
Cameron, who has completed more than 30 dives on the wreck of the Titanic, said he knew an “extreme catastrophic event” had occurred as soon as he learned that the submersible had lost navigation and navigation. communications during its descent.
“For the sub’s electronics to fail, its communications system to fail and its locator transponder to fail simultaneously, the sub was missing,” he told the British broadcaster. .
“For me, there was no doubt. I knew the submarine was at exactly its last known depth and position, and that’s exactly where they found it. There was no search. When they finally brought down an ROV capable of measuring depth, they found it within hours. Probably within minutes. »
The director has been passionate about oceanography since childhood and has completed dozens of deep-sea dives, including one to the deepest point on earth: the bottom of the Mariana Trench in the Pacific Ocean.
Cameron added that “one of the saddest things about this case is that it could have been avoided.”
“We now have another shipwreck that unfortunately relies on the same principles of disregarding warnings,” he said.
Deep-sea explorers have expressed concern about OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan submersible, saying it’s too experimental to carry passengers.
OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Söhnlein told Times Radio that chief executive Stockton Rush, who was one of the passengers on the Titan, was “extremely committed to safety”.
“He was also extremely diligent about risk management and very aware of the dangers of operating in a deep ocean environment,” said Söhnlein, who no longer works for OceanGate.
